Santa's Safety Training

Santas are going on health and safety courses so they don't hurt themselves balancing children on their knees. Lessons include the right posture to adopt in their chairs as excited youngsters queue to reel off their Christmas lists. They are also being taught how to lift heavy presents without causing themselves an injury.

The one-day courses are being staged by the UK's Chartered Institute of Environmental Health. A spokesman stressed: "Of course there's only one Santa-but hundreds of stand-ins work in stores in the run-up to Christmas."